01
Jan

Is the Grass Still Greener? Examining Trends in Canada to US Nurse Migration

Preliminary work conducted by McGillis Hall and this team of researchers identified that substantial increases in Canadian nurse migration to the US occurred between 1990 and 1999. Specifically, full-time work opportunities and the potential for ongoing education were key motivators for Canadian nurse mobility to the US, and of particular importance to baccalaureate-prepared nurses. Despite national attention to HHR, quality of worklife and the work environment for nurses in Canada, data from the US National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses (NSSRN) conducted in 2004 indicated that there were now 100,791 foreign-educated nurses working in the US, and 20% (i.e., 20,359) of these are from Canada.

This current study proposes to use the most recent NSSRN data conducted in 2008 to describe Canadian-educated nurses in the US; identify differences between Canadian-educated nurses in the US and US educated nurses; compare, at an aggregate level Canadian-educated nurses in the US to RNs in Canada; and conduct a comparative analysis of differences over time (to earlier work conducted by this research team on the 1996, 2000 and 2004 NSSRN) of Canadian-educated nurses in the US and US educated nurses.